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Relieved at that, Julia took hold of the arm that he had offered and happily began to follow him as he guided her away from the carriage. It was only a moment before she realised that he was guiding her in entirely the opposite direction to her friend and his brother.
Panic fluttered in her chest for only a second before he whispered into her ear, “Fear not. I merely wish for a little privacy with you after so many weeks separated. Besides, I don’t think that either of us wishes to see whatever the two of them are going to get up to.”
Julia bit back laughter, remembering all too well how sickeningly affectionate Chelsea and Jonathan had become with each other. At every chance they got, they would touch, whether it was merely in the touching of shoulders, sitting closely, or holding hands whenever nobody was looking.
Though Julia had not shared many a moment with the two of them, she had seen enough to know that her best friend was falling head over heels for the young nobleman.
And in truth, the same could be said for herself with Lord Sutthers, though now that she found herself face-to-face with him, she was certain that her nerves would get the better of her.
“Please, come with me,” Lord Sutthers urged her gently. “I wish to show you something.”
Julia nodded, needing to say nothing in response, and allowed him to guide her further around the side of the house. They passed through a small side garden that was all crisscrossing shingle paths and flowerbeds that looked as though they would be colourful and wondrous during the summer months.
Beyond that were high-growing hedges, much like the ones that lined the lanes they had travelled down to get to the manor. Though unlike those, these were perfectly manicured, and within, they hid a secret that caused Julia’s mouth to drop open the moment she stepped foot through the gate.
Inside was a vast and beautiful orchard. Even though many of the leaves had already been stripped from the branches, it was still made magical with snow lying thickly around the trunks of the trees. There were also the footprints of many an animal, from birds to a fox written on the surface, and the more she looked, the more Julia could see.
“I thought you might like this place,” Lord Sutthers said with a proud tone and an even prouder smile upon his face. “I have known it ever since our walk in the park when you insisted upon telling me of your love of trees.”
“Well, can you blame me?” Julia exclaimed in return, gesturing at the thickly growing trees all around her. “They are mysterious and beautiful and will outlive every single one of us, our children, and our grandchildren too.”
Lord Sutthers looked surprised for a moment and he shrugged before he admitted, “I have never really thought about it like that before.”
Though Julia had thought of it many times, she felt as though there was far more meaning behind her words. Though she had always thought of herself as meeting a man she loved and marrying him, she had never really allowed herself to think too far ahead. That included any thoughts she might have had over the years of having children, or, further still, grandchildren.
Yet in the very moment she stood there, looking into those brilliant green eyes, she realised she could see an entire life lay ahead of her that she had never dared to dream about before.
The suddenness of the thought caused her head to spin, and she automatically took a step forward, reaching for the trunk of the nearest tree. Snow crunched beneath her boots as she moved to lean against it, breathing in the cool and fresh winter air and allowing the feeling of the hard trunk against her back to ground her like nothing else ever had been able to.
“Are you alright?” Lord Sutthers asked and upon hearing his voice, she quickly came to realise that she had closed her eyes and tilted back her head. A sensation of being pressed in on almost made Julia jump right out of her skin, but when she opened her eyes to find him standing before her, she could not help but smile.
“I… I merely grew lightheaded for a moment,” she reassured him, reaching instinctively for him. Lord Sutthers did not pull away or even attempt to step out of reach of her. Instead, the moment that she placed her hand upon his forearm, she felt him pressing in closer to her.
“Let me hold you until you regain your head,” he suggested, and she felt his strong arms move around her, bracing her against the tree trunk with even more firmness. She had to admit that pressed between his warm, solid body and the cool, rough trunk as she was, she felt an odd sense of security and even more than that, she felt a great sense of affection.
Her gloved hands moved instinctively to cup his face, and he did not pull away. Instead, he leaned down to kiss her, just as he had done on the hilltop all those weeks ago. This time when Julia’s head started to spin, there was nowhere for her to go and so she could only close her eyes and lose herself to the sensation.
An urgency and a need that Julia had not felt before swept over the both of them and in an instant both she and the earl were gripping at each other. She felt his gloved hands gathering the material of her skirts and his torso pressed even more against her chest as though he could not quite get close enough.
What am I doing?A small voice whispered in the back of Julia’s mind but it was scolded away by the heat of the earl’s passionate kiss. She could think of nothing but feeling his hands all over her body and she so desperately wanted to experience more. Pressing herself back against the trunk of the tree, she spread her legs open, already anticipating what was to come next.
A gloved hand slipped beneath her skirts and she felt it caress the bare flesh of her thigh. Desire swept over her in an instant and she slipped her hands around the earl’s waist, pulling him needily toward her.
It was in that moment that everything changed. Fear gripped her the moment she heard him suck in a deep, pain-filled breath. He flinched away as though her touch had stung him, moving away to the right and seeming to curl in on himself.
Oh no! What have I done?She thought, remembering the details of the nobleman’s accident. “My lord, please say I have not hurt you!”
Lord Sutthers, standing a little way off now, gripped hold of his left ribs with one gloved hand, his eyes closed and seemingly unbreathing. His lips were parted and yet his teeth were clenched in the worst grimace that Julia had ever seen.
Taking a step forward, Julia felt the urge to touch him again, to comfort him. It was only the thought that she had done enough damage already that prevented her from doing so.
“Oh, Lord Sutthers, please speak to me,” she exclaimed, feeling a terrible sense of guilt threatening to overwhelm her. “Please say I have not hurt you too terribly.”
It was then that the lord finally opened his eyes and although they were still filled with pain, he shook his head.
“No, please, do not trouble yourself with feeling guilty,” he responded. Still with clenched jaw, he stepped back to join her and reached for her hand. Gently, he placed her palm against his ribs where he had been holding them only moments before.
“The wound is almost entirely healed, though the area is still terribly sore, and I was not quite expecting you to grab me so… passionately.”
